NSSE has provided invaluable information to administrators, faculty, and staff across the seven University of Maine campuses needed to make changes to improve the student experience.
James H. Breece, Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, University of Maine System
Consortia and State or University Systems
Consortium and system registration for 2010 will begin in September. If you are interested in forming a consortium, the enrollment process begins August 15th. If you have questions about consortium matters, please contact Jennifer Brooks, NSSE Client Services Manager.
To learn more about consortia and systems who have participated, view the listing by administration year or across all years.
Contents
Consortia Purpose and Function
Consortium Benefits
How to Form a Consortium
Appointing a Coordinator
How to Register for Consortium or System Participation
Consortium Timeline for NSSE 2010
Drafting Additional Consortium Questions
Consortia Purpose and Function
A NSSE consortium is a group of six or more colleges or universities participating in NSSE the same administration year that want to ask students additional questions that will follow the NSSE core survey. Consortia may add up to 20 additional questions developed and agreed upon by member institutions and reviewed by a NSSE research analyst.
The mean comparison and frequency reports for each institution will include a comparison of their student responses (for both the core survey and the consortium questions) against the aggregate of the other consortium members. A consortium exists for many reasons including a common interest in a topic (e.g., Information Literacy), a similar institutional mission (e.g., Jesuit Colleges), and state or university systems that want to ask questions (e.g., California State University System). You can see the diverse functions of NSSE consortia since the survey's inception in 2000. We also provide information by year including coordinator contact information and survey questions (since 2004).
The minimum of six institutions for consortium formation is set to ensure the confidentiality of responses from individual institutions by providing a larger aggregate, and it also distributes the expense for NSSE to set up the consortium. The NSSE Consortium Manager will consider requests for consortia of less than six institutions. Such agreements require all participating institutions to sign a data sharing agreement.
There is a fee for institutions participating in a consortium based upon the size of total undergraduate enrollment for your institution.
| Enrollment | Fee |
|---|---|
Fewer than 4,000 |
$200 |
4,000 to 7,999 |
$300 |
8,000 to 12,000 |
$400 |
More than 12,000 |
$500 |
Consortium Benefits
Institutions receive consortium aggregate means and frequencies as one of the three comparison groups in their Institutional Report. Consortium coordinators will receive a report of selected consortium results but do not receive individual institutional data unless a data sharing agreement is completed. Please contact the NSSE Consortium Manager for more information.
Note: Survey administration mode is not a consideration for consortium participation.
Each institution may choose whichever mode best meets their needs. Additional consortium questions will be included in packets of those students receiving a paper version and will also be available on the Web for all three modes of survey administration. For Web+ mode institutions, students who receive the paper mailing of the survey will not receive the consortium questions in paper form, although they will see those questions if they complete the Web survey.
State and University Systems
As an incentive to state systems of higher education and multi-institution university systems, NSSE provides a set of frequency and benchmark reports that compare all institutions in the system for no additional charge. These reports include aggregate frequency and benchmark information for the entire system as well. This set of reports is sent to the NSSE system contact along with an additional set of mean comparison, frequency, and benchmark reports for each institution (each institution still receives its individual Institutional Report). Systems that wish to ask additional questions may do so and will be charged the standard consortium fees for each institution. System coordinators receive an SPSS file of institutional data unless system and institutional agreements do not allow this provision. Please contact the NSSE Consortium Manager at consorti@indiana.edu if you would not want to receive this SPSS file.
How to Form a Consortium
All consortia and systems will be formed sometime from the middle of July through October 1, 2009. If you are an individual or organization who wishes to coordinate a consortium, you should complete the NSSE 2010 Consortium Enrollment form which will be available on August 15th.
Consortia and systems will be approved beginning September 1st. Coordinators will be informed of their approval at this time.
Institutions do not need to belong to another pre-existing consortium or system (e.g., Women’s Colleges, CUNY system) to form a NSSE consortium, but all of the participating institutions must be registered and approved for NSSE 2010. A list of approved institutions will appear on the NSSE Web site and will be updated on a regular basis. Institutions are approved beginning sometime in late July or early August.
If you need assistance recruiting participants, NSSE can provide coordinators with the contact information of registered institutions’ project managers. The NSSE Consortium Manager will solicit interest in receiving this information in the beginning of October. NSSE staff members can also help institutions identify potential membership in an existing consortium or recommend other institutions they might contact to form a new consortium.
Appointing a Coordinator
Each consortium and system must have a coordinator. Typically, this is an individual from one of the institutions in the proposed consortium; however, NSSE does allow coordinators from an institution not currently participating in the survey. The Consortium Coordinator is responsible for:
- Determining consortium/system purpose and name;
- Recruiting participating institutions as necessary;
- Coordinating communication among participating institutions;
- Working with consortium participants to develop consortium questions and submit by the deadline;
- Responding to question revisions recommended by NSSE research analysts;
- Communicating with the NSSE Consortium Manager as needed;
- Coordinating any additional data sharing agreements between these institutions and NSSE;
- Determining the extent to which NSSE can present or publish articles on consortium or system data; and,
- Indicating whether or not data should be provided to the coordinator in SPSS Format. If this is requested, then a data sharing agreement must be procured.
How to Register for Consortium or System Participation
All institutions will be invited by NSSE to enroll for consortium or system participation beginning September 15th.
Institutions may enroll in only one consortium. Institutions in a non-question asking system may register for a consortium and be considered a system participant. Any questions regarding enrollment should be directed to the NSSE Consortium Manager. Consortia that form after the invitation to institutions to register for a consortium will likely have to conduct their own recruitment of participants.
Consortium Timeline for NSSE 2010
September 17, 2009 |
NSSE 2010 registration deadline for institutions |
Mid- July, 2009 |
NSSE Consortium Manager contacts existing consortia and systems to determine interest in 2010 participation. |
August 15, 2009 |
Consortium/System Enrollment Form Available for Coordinators (deadline October 1, 2009) |
September 15, 2009 |
Invitation sent to institutions for participation in a consortia and/or system |
October 1, 2009 |
Deadline for consortium and system coordinators to submit questions |
November 3, 2009 |
Deadline for institutions to enroll in consortium or system |
Drafting Additional Consortium Questions
Each consortium or system may ask up to 20 consortium-specific questions. There is no requirement to ask 20 questions and some have asked as few as five questions to accomplish their research agenda. Coordinators must submit questions by October 1, 2009. In drafting additional questions, it may be helpful to involve NSSE project staff early in the process. Both NSSE and Indiana University’s Center for Survey Research staff will review potential questions and make recommendations based on best practices in survey administration and compatibility with items in the National Survey of Student Engagement. Consortia that form after the October 1st deadline will work with the NSSE Consortium Manager to develop a plan for question submission.